Wirt made a very logical and insightful analysis of the downside to
POSIX on MPE.  I can raise few onjections, most of which would be nit
picking to a absurd level.
 
I would like to clarify my earlier point concerning language/environment
commonality.  As Wirt notes in vivid detail, most efforts at creating or
enforcing a common language fail.  This is not always a bad thing (Ada -
enough said).
 
My point, which I poorly related, was that there have been certain points of
revolution in this industry that were so widely accepted that they in-
and-of themselves forced the industry to grow in dramatic spurts.  COBOL
(yech) caused a commonality in application programming that still has
the industry's highest momentum, and yet nobody I'll admit to knowing
thinks COBOL is a wonderful programming language.
 
TCP/IP was the turning point for networks.  The commonality allowed MPE,
MVS, VMS, UNIX and MS-DOS to freely communicate -- more or less.
 
I could ramble on endlessly (which is my style) about the commonality
found in C (but sadly not in Pascal), X.25, MS-DOS, etc.  Each vaulted
the industry foward in rather swift and unpleasent spurts (to which
there is an interesting sidebar -- I believe that Turbo Pascal was the
true turning point for the PC market place.  When mister Kahn introduced
the $49 compiler, he did for computers what Gutenberg did for literature,
turned *everyone* into a programmer).
 
Will POSIX have a revolutionary effect?  I'm betting it will, and that
it will do some of what Wirt predicts.  There will be some degradation
of proprietary systems that fight to keep their 85% solutions working.
But the 85% that we are given to work with is better than the 0% we had
last year.
 
What will be interesting is if the "roach motel" method of garnering
market share will work.  As Wirt noted, each vendor likes the 85%
solution, and dupe users and VARs into emploing the incompatable elements
of their system.  Despite editoral dementia to the contrary, the UNIX
market is rife with this racket.  MPE, and other "open proprietary"
systems will be sold this way as well.
 
Who wins?  Well, we do.  Prices will fall universaly and the evolutionary
rate of application design will accelerate.  More for less, if you will.
We will see MPE altered, mutated both for better and worse beyond recognition.
And I fear, it will become less stable.  Not entirely desirable, but not
the end of the world either.  Just a new way of doing business.
 
 =======================================================================
Guy Smith                                Voice:  804-527-4000 ext 6664
Circuit City Stores, Inc.                  FAX:  804-527-4008
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The thoughts expressed herein are mine and do not reflect those of my
employer, or anyone with common sense.